Who You Love
by stirringofmysoul
Summary: Who You Love takes place during the same timeframe as Almost Here, but focuses on the story of Jill and Eddie. You don't have to read Almost Here to understand or enjoy the story.
1. Chapter 1

_Who You Love takes place during the same timeframe as Almost Here, but focuses on the story of Jill and Eddie. You don't have to read Almost Here to understand or enjoy the story. _

Chapter One

Nothing about Sydney surprised Jill anymore. The girl had transformed from model Alchemist to renegade. She had gone from cringing at the mere thought of a vampire to marrying a Moroi royal. So it shouldn't have fazed Jill when Sydney freaked out about the possibility of being pregnant. What most people would think of as the greatest event of their lives Sydney was treating like a death sentence. The girl's tendencies were always all over the map.

"I don't hear anything in there," Jill said as she leaned against the wall next to the bathroom door. She heard a thump, a groan, and finally the sound of Sydney taking the pregnancy test.

When the door opened a few minutes later Jill pulled a wobbly looking Sydney into a hug. She set the timer on her phone and they waited. She offered to look at the test for Sydney, but her friend wanted to do it herself.

Little blue plus sign.

Jill was filled with a lot of emotions as she looked at the test. Happiness for her friend mixed with a little bit of jealousy. No time in the near future would she be on the receiving end of this news. Jill sat with her for a while and only left when Sydney seemed to be feeling better…and googling childbirth like the academic nerd she was.

Jill promised not to tell anyone the news, but Eddie wasn't just anyone. The pair had a connection during their time in Palm Springs, but once Jill was allowed to return to Court after the Royal Bloodline law was changed he backed off completely. Jill was glad to be with her mother again (and no longer under the constant fear of being assassinated), but at least during the mission she and Eddie had a chance. Back here it was like he was afraid to even think about her. The four years she was away at college was basically filled with radio silence and then awkward small talk when she was home for breaks. And though she dated other guys over the years she always found herself comparing them to the one that got away. Much to her delight (and surprise) it seemed Eddie was struggling with the same issues because when she returned to Court after graduation he admitted he was in love with her…that he had always been in love with her and thus began their relationship.

Well…if you could call it a relationship. Eddie was still under the impression he wasn't worthy of Jill. And as much as she tried to tell him that wasn't the case he fought back just as hard. With Lissa at the helm the whole makeup of the Vampiritic world was on a new course, but Eddie was stubborn. It was getting to the point where Jill wasn't sure it was even worth it anymore…but the thought of not having him in her life was far worse so she stayed and kept hoping things would change.

Jill pulled a pin out of her apron pocket and held it between her lips as she tugged on the material of the bridesmaid dress she was pinning. The Conta family had commissioned her for their daughter's wedding, a very exciting (and big) undertaking. "And then she told me she was going to do research," she explained.

"Pocket, take that out of your mouth…you're going to swallow it," Eddie scolded, using his nickname for her (because she was always pulling everything under the sun out of her pockets while she worked in her studio). He was seated at one of her work tables.

Jill complied. "Better?" she asked him.

"Much," he replied. "Research? What does even mean?"

"It means Sydney is going to treat this baby like homework. I wanted to tell her she doesn't have to defend her dissertation in the delivery room, but she's not listening to reason," Jill chuckled.

"Seems like she's overthinking the whole thing," Eddie replied.

Jill bit her tongue to stop herself from saying something along the lines of 'takes one to know one'. "Just wait until Adrian's dad finds out," she said with a shake of her head. "He's going to lose it."

"Old habits die hard for most of the royals around here," Eddie said.

"Not all of them," Jill said, peeking up to look at him.

"So was Adrian happy about the news?" Eddie asked, effectively cutting off her attempt to start a dialogue at its head.

She inwardly sighed. "He doesn't know yet," she replied.

"I'm sure he'll be thrilled," Eddie said. He looked up at the clock on the wall. "My shift starts in twenty minutes."

"Will I see you tonight?" she asked him.

"Depends who's on duty at your door tonight," Eddie replied as he got up to his feet. He leaned down to give her a kiss good-bye and ducked out before she could protest any further.

xxx

After Jill ended her conversation with Ellen Conta (mother of the bride, Camille) she tossed her phone beside her on the bed and blinked her eyes closed. She just needed a moment to herself. Her head was buzzing. Not that that was anything new for her. Even though she could block Adrian without a second thought now his energy was always pulsing somewhere inside her head. That coupled with the news of the baby that she wasn't supposed to talk about…yeah, space inside her skull was pretty tight.

She needed to take a few breathes and not think about anything involving the Ivashkovs or weddings.

In…out…in…out. Hmm, this was not working.

Perhaps a distraction?

Jill was sitting up, resting on her elbows when the door to her room opened. When her eyes focused she was greeted with the sight of her boyfriend (at least behind closed doors boyfriend).

Hello, distraction.

"Are you meditating or something?" Eddie asked. He closed the door behind him and started to shrug out of his jacket.

"Or something," she responded. She scooted closer to the edge of her bed and jumped up to her feet so she could give him a hug.

"Careful I'm all wet…" he said as she exclaimed, "Ack! You're all wet!" Eddie laughed. "It's raining pretty hard out there," he explained.

Jill wiggled out of his embrace and flopped back onto her bed. Eddie kicked off his sneakers and joined her on the mattress. He shifted his arms and Jill tucked herself in against him.

"You know your pants are still wet," Jill teased. She smiled up at him.

He leaned in to kiss her forehead. "You know there are two guardians outside your door," he responded with a smile of his own.

Her lips pulled down and formed a pout. "This could easily be solved…" she started to say, but was interrupted by a knock on her door.

"Princess," Guardian Moore's voice said. "Your presence is requested in the Queen's office. Mrs. Conta has some things she'd like to discuss."

This message turned her pout into more of a scowl. "I just talked to her! This conversation is NOT over," she informed the guardian in her bed.

"Maybe my pants will be off when you get back and we won't have to talk," he teased her.

Jill let out a chuckle. She liked the playful side of Eddie (well…she really liked ALL of Eddie). ..she wished he'd show it more often. She leaned down to kiss his lips. "To be continued…"


	2. Chapter 2

Chapter Two

Jill's head was buzzing again. She sighed and set down the scissors she was holding in her hand. Why couldn't Adrian pick more convenient times to put himself in emotional upheaval…like when she wasn't holding pointy things?

"Okay, that was weird…even for Sydney," Jill commented when she picked up the phone a few minutes later.

"Thank you!" Adrian said with a sigh. "She's treating this like a school assignment." He leaned against the counter and rubbed his face.

"Maybe once she goes to the doctor and sees the little blob on the ultrasound she'll get more into it," Jill reasoned.

"Or…" Adrian said. "She'll freak out. To Sydney this baby isn't a person right now. Once she sees it as one I'm not sure what may happen."

"Or…" Jill countered. "She could totally fall in love with the baby and forget all the fears she had before."

"Those fears weren't totally unfounded," Adrian grumbled. "This unprecedented stuff for us, Jailbait."

"Unprecedented…yeah, being with Syd all this time has rubbed off on you," she teased him.

Adrian couldn't help but laugh. "Shut up," he replied.

"I know you wanted this and I think you're going to be a wonderful dad," she said, serious now.

"Ugh, why did you have to say dad…just wait until mine finds out about this," Adrian said with a groan.

"You don't have to tell him," Jill said.

"Oh, yeah…I'm sure he would just think Syd was carrying around a bowling ball under her shirt," Adrian said sarcastically. "And besides gossip spreads around here faster than it does on an episode of 90210."

"Okay, I could blame the big words on Sydney, but the shitty taste in television…that one is lost on me," Jill replied.

"And newsflash, Jailbailt…your theory of not telling your sister you and Eddie are hooking up isn't going to work either," Adrian said.

"You and Sydney are always quick to bring my life to the surface instead of focusing on your own," Jill said. "And we are not 'hooking up'…we're in a relationship," she clarified.

"Six…half a dozen…" Adrian replied. "The point is all of this is going to come out soon enough."

"But really, Adrian…congratulations," Jill said softly.

"Thanks," he replied. "Talk to you soon, yeah?"

"Not too soon if I can help it," Jill teased. "Bye."

Adrian seemed calmer now, but she let a few more minutes pass before picking her scissors back up and returning to the task at hand.

xxx

"I mean…I should have seen it coming, but I was hoping it wasn't going to happen," Sydney said to Jill.

"Yeah, totally sucks," she agreed, even though she hadn't heard a word her friend had said.

"I thought you were coming over here to keep me company," Sydney replied with a chuckle.

Sydney was about three months into her pregnancy and for the time being on bed rest. A few nights before she and Adrian had been invited to Mr. Ivashkov's house for dinner. Instead of a celebratory meal they had been ambushed by his lawyer.

"I'm sorry," Jill apologized. "I just have this big order for the Conta wedding and stuff."

"You know what's great for clearing your mind?" Sydney said to her.

"No…but I'm sure you'll tell me," she said with a chuckle.

"Yoga," Sydney said.

"Did you read that on the internet?" she teased her.

Sydney rolled her eyes. "Adrian has all but banned me from reading," she said.

"Maybe you should take your own advice and clear your mind," Jill suggested to her.

"I signed up for prenatal yoga," Sydney said with a smile. "Actually you and I both did."

Jill raised an eyebrow. "I don't think I fit the criteria for the class," she pointed out.

"I dunno…maybe not today, but soon…you and Eddie are pretty handsy," Sydney teased her. Since Adrian and Sydney knew about their relationship they didn't have to hide their affection for one another in front of their friends.

"Trust me," Jill said with a chuckle. "Eddie is a guardian in every sense of the word. There's not going to be any little Dragomirs anytime soon." She glanced at her phone. "Or any wedding dress of my own either. Speaking of… I'm going to be late for a meeting with Ellen and Camille about their vision for the floral arrangements."

"I thought you were doing the bridesmaids dresses," Sydney replied as Jill got up to her feet.

"It all goes hand in hand…and as long as their hands are paying me I'm happy to oblige," she said with a grin.

xxx

Jill didn't know how Ellen did it. Most days she barely had time to think about all the things she needed to do so how this woman had time to think about the most inane issues was beyond her understanding.

"Jill, maybe you should be recording this," Ellen suggested. "I noticed when I was looking at the dresses earlier you missed a few details."

"When you were looking at the dresses?" Jill asked. They were locked up tight in her studio.

"One of the guardians let me in," Ellen explained. "Don't get me wrong…you're very talented, but we want everything to be exact." She slid a list of notes across the table towards Jill.

Camille nodded her head like a bobble head doll. Jill wondered if she had any opinions of her own. It was her day after all. But she just smiled and nodded along as well. "Of course…I'll be sure to make the corrections."

"Of course," Ellen echoed.

"I did have an idea. Since we seem to be in a bit of a bind with the flowers," Jill said (Camille was pretty much allergic to everything). "I was thinking we could make the bouquets out of antique brooches. I have some pictures of what I'm talking about." She produced a few photos from her portfolio.

Camille leaned in to examine the prints, but Ellen quickly shot it down without even a glance. "This is a royal wedding," she reminded her. "Tradition is of the utmost importance."

"Of course," Jill said. She felt like she was starting to sound like a broken record. She tucked the photos back into her file and pressed her lips together as Ellen once again took control of the meeting.


	3. Chapter 3

Chapter Three

By the time she left the two women Jill was exhausted. She was going to have to spend hours reserved for sleeping working on the 'minor' corrections. But she pushed that out of her head for the time being. She and Eddie had an actual date tonight.

Since Eddie was held with a higher respect than many of the guardians at Court when Jill needed to leave the grounds he was usually the one to accompany her. Thankfully no one ever seemed to notice her errands usually needed to be run around dinner (date) time.

She quickly showered and changed. She was just finishing up her hair and makeup when Eddie arrived. "Let me just get my bag," she said. She also grabbed her portfolio. Tonight they were going out under the guise of needing beading for the dresses she was working on. As if Ellen would ever agree to something so flashy.

Once they were safely outside the confines of Court Jill unbuckled her seatbelt and scooted closer to Eddie.

"Hey," Eddie said. "Just because we're not actually out on official business doesn't mean I'm not supposed to return you in one piece."

"You drive slower than someone's grandpa. I'm sure I'll be fine," Jill reasoned.

"Pocket," he warned her and she begrudgingly got back into her seat and buckled up. Eddie released one hand from the steering wheel and slid it into hers.

She squeezed his hand and smiled. "So where are we going?" she asked him.

"Where are we supposed to be going?" he replied.

"That funky little bead store downtown. I already called in my order so all we have to do is pick it up," Jill explained.

"Okay, well…there's that sub shop near there," Eddie replied. Jill crinkled up her nose and shook her head. "Italian?" he tried again.

"That sounds good," she agreed. Avantis gave off a much more romantic vibe than Jimmy Johns.

They talked about this and that along the short (too short) drive. Eddie dropped Jill off in front of the shop while he went to find a parking spot. She ducked inside, picked up her order, and met him in front of the restaurant.

"How is Sydney feeling?" he asked once they were settled in their booth.

"Tired…crazy," Jill said. "She wants me to take yoga with her."

"Is that safe for her to do?" he asked as he brought up his water glass to his lips and sipped.

"It's a class designed for pregnant women," she explained as she looked over the menu.

A steady stream of water flew out of Eddie's mouth and hit Jill between the eyes. "Pregnant women?" he gasped.

"Ew, Eddie…were you raised in a barn?" Jill exclaimed and dabbed her face with her napkin.

"Jill!" he said, clearly exasperated.

"I'm not pregnant," she hissed. "I'm going for moral support." She set down her napkin.

"Oh, thank god…" he said as he let out a sigh of relief.

Jill rolled her eyes. "Thank you for letting me know where you stand on the topic," she huffed.

"I didn't mean…" Eddie stammered.

"Don't worry about it," Jill replied. "Let's just enjoy our precious time together. God only knows when you'll allow me to see you again."

xxx

"And then I told him God only knows when you'll allow me to see you again," Jill said to Adrian. "Then I left," she added.

"Did you throw a glass of water in his face too?" Adrian teased her. "Because I'm trying to picture this in my head and the water makes it all the more dramatic."

"This isn't a movie…it's my life!" she huffed.

"Calm down, Jailbait," Adrian said with a chuckle. "You guys fight all the time and you always make up."

Jill bit on the skin around her thumb. "Maybe I'm tired of fighting," she said.

"But then how would I get my weekly fix of live entertainment?" he asked. "Come on…I want you to see the nursery. I'm almost done with the mural," Adrian said. He got up to his feet and Jill followed him down the hall.

She tilted her head to better examine the tiger bearing his teeth that Adrian had painted onto the wall near the window. "Isn't he kind of scary?"

"He's smiling!" Adrian insisted.

"Yeah, he's smiling because he's going to eat you," Jill snickered.

"You have no vision," he huffed.

"Vision," she said with a snort as she looked around at the brightly painted jungle theme. "If I have to hear Ellen Conta say vision one more time I'm going to scream."

"I'm guessing the job isn't going well?" he mused.

"The parts where I'm working on the dresses by myself are fine," Jill said. "But when I'm actually with her…not so great."

"I thought Camille was the bride," Adrian said.

"In name only," Jill said. "Ellen is making all the important decisions. Wait, that's not true. She wouldn't even let Camille pick out the napkins. Ellen is making all the decisions." She flinched when her cell phone buzzed. She looked down at the screen. "Eddie," she reported with a huff. "Hello?" she said crisply into the phone.

"Are you still mad at me?" he asked her.

"I'm not happy with you," she replied. She stepped out of the nursery and into the hallway.

"Can I make it up to you?" he asked.

"Want to meet me at Lissa's office?" she replied.

"I was thinking more along the lines of dinner at my place," he clarified. "I can cook. Please, Pocket."

Jill felt her resolve weakening. Yeah, this was exactly why she was stuck. She couldn't put all the blame on Eddie. This was half her own fault. "I have a meeting with Ellen and Camille," she said just to stall the inevitable giving in she was about to do. "But yeah…I'll come over after that."

"Great," Eddie replied. "I love you."

"Love you too," Jill said and ended the call.

Adrian stood in the doorway and shook his head. "You're your own worst enemy, Jailbait," he said.

"Don't I know it," she said with a groan.


	4. Chapter 4

Chapter Four

This afternoon was the first fitting for the Conta bridesmaids. After losing sleep for over a week the dresses finally seemed to be up to MOB standards. That in and of itself was a small miracle.

"Turn around, Isabel," Ellen instructed one of Camille's friends. Isabel obliged and Ellen cooed…which Jill took as a good sign.

Camille and Jill sat in the back of the room as Ellen ran the fashion show. Jill glanced over at the bride and saw her fingers flying across her keypad

"Sorry," Camille apologized. "I'm not ignoring the dresses. I mean, you're so talented I know they're all great. I just miss Eric," she said, referring to the groom.

"I don't think I've ever met him," Jill replied.

"He's been overseas since the engagement," Camille explained. "But I've been keeping him up to date on the planning."

"Can I see a picture of him?" Jill asked. Camille handed her phone over to Jill so she could see the groom…digitally anyway. "He's very handsome."

"Yeah, he is," Camille said with a smile. "He's really the best."

"What is he doing overseas?" Jill asked curiously. She gave the phone back to Camille.

"He's an archeologist," she explained. "And he's doing a dig in China."

"Wow, that sounds like a really cool job," Jill said.

"It is," Camille agreed. "Some people don't think so, though," she said and looked over at her mother.

"Oh…I mean, she seems so on board with the wedding," Jill said tactfully.

"The only saving grace is he's a royal too…otherwise I doubt she would have let this happen," she said with a sigh.

"People around here really get hung up on labels," Jill agreed.

"What about you? Do you have a boyfriend?" Camille asked her.

"Me? Oh…no," Jill lied.

"You're young. You have plenty of time to find the one," Camille said.

The thing was Jill had found the one. She found him several years ago. "Yeah," Jill nodded. "Um, excuse me. I think something's wrong with the train on the dress." She hopped up to her feet.

The real question, though…was he the right one?

xxx

"Hey you," Eddie said, his face lighting up when Jill walked into his apartment. "Dinner is almost ready."

"Good because I'm starving," Jill replied. She unwound her scarf from her neck and hung up her jacket on the hook.

"How'd the meeting go?" he asked. He leaned down to peck her lips when she was close enough, slipping an arm around her waist.

"Enlightening," she said after the kiss ended. "Smells good in there," she said and nodded towards the kitchen.

"Salad, garlic bread, chicken parmesan, and pasta," Eddie reported, rather proudly.

She looked up at him. "Wow, you really must really feel bad," she teased him.

"Wait, I didn't even get to dessert," he said with a chuckle. "Flourless chocolate cake."

"Can we skip right to that?" she asked him.

"I'm sorry about the other night," Eddie said softly. He pressed his forehead to his. "I want all those things with you. I just…need to sort some stuff out, okay?"

Jill thought back to the various conversations she had with Sydney, Adrian, and Camille. It was pretty clear they had all fought hard to be with the person they wanted. Maybe she needed to try a little harder herself. "Yeah, okay, babe," she agreed. She leaned up to give him another kiss.

Eddie's body relaxed against Jill's and he smiled against her lips. "You look really pretty tonight," he told her.

"I already forgave you," she teased. "You can lay off the flattery."

"Just being honest," Eddie said in a sincere tone.

This elicited a smile from Jill. Eddie was nothing if not Boy Scout honest. "Thank you, babe," she replied and pecked his lips again.

"Now sit down and just relax," Eddie said. "I hope you like dinner."

"Of course I'm going to like it. I didn't have to cook it," she said with a chuckle. She pulled her chair away from the table and sat down.

xxx

"Why did I agree to this again?" Sydney hissed as Jill slid into the seat next to her.

"Because it was fun? Because you got free stuff?" Jill offered.

Sydney's baby shower had just ended. Though she had come around to the idea of having a child she didn't seem to enjoy being the center of the attention for the afternoon.

"No one who came even likes me," Sydney pointed out.

"It's not you," Jill insisted. "That's just how Ivashkovs are. Icy…aloof…royal."

"You're royal and you're not a huge bitch," Sydney spat.

"Sage, it's over…and we got so much cool stuff," Adrian said, joining the two girls at the table. "And for god sake…smile!"

"I can't…my face hurts too much from fake smiling all afternoon," Sydney replied.

"See, Jill…be glad you're not married and have to deal with a cranky spouse," Adrian teased. He wrapped his arm around Sydney.

"It's hormones," Sydney said matter of factly.

"Speak of the devil…hey, buddy…where your ears burning?" Adrian said as Eddie walked into the room.

"I can only imagine what you were saying about me," Eddie said with a snicker.

"How handsome you are mostly," Adrian quipped. "But also how strong you are…and what a nice guy you are…and how much you want to help me load this stuff into the car."

"Yeah, yeah," Eddie said with a chuckle. He gave Jill's shoulder a squeeze and went to help Adrian round up all the gifts.

"Really, Jill…thanks for putting this afternoon together," Sydney said. "I know I'm crabby, but I appreciate it. And though it's very hard to tell because they don't show emotions I think everyone here had a good time."

"Please, this was easy. Besides I've learned all about proper traditional royalness from working with Ellen Conta," she snickered.

"I'm guessing your wedding is going to be the opposite of that," Sydney said.

"Yeah, mark down my Vegas elopement on your calendar for the 12th of never," she said as she looked over at Eddie.


	5. Chapter 5

Chapter Five

"You look…sweaty," Jill commented as she let Eddie into her room. A week had passed since the baby shower and life had gone on as usual. The Conta wedding was nearing and after a disaster with Camille's dress the task of designing, crafting, and fitting the gown to Ellen's standards (the French dressmaker's creation had both horrified and repulsed the MOB) was now on Jill's shoulders.

"I was helping Adrian put together the crib," Eddie explained as he flopped onto the bed. "Correction…I put together the crib."

"Yeah, Adrian was not made for manual labor," Jill agreed with a chuckle. She planted herself in Eddie's lap after locking her door.

His arms looped around her. He pressed a kiss to her temple. "How's the dress making going?"

"It's going alright," Jill said. She held up her bruised and cut fingers to show him.

Eddie took her hand into his and kissed a few of her fingertips. "I think they might need to be cut off," he teased her.

"Mmm, nah. I think your kisses saved them," Jill said with a giggle.

"Anything else need to be healed?" Eddie asked in a teasing tone.

Jill tapped her lips with her fingertips. Eddie obliged and pressed his lips to hers. The kiss was gentle and sweet. She chuckled softly. "You're still all sweaty, babe," she murmured.

"Maybe we should fix that," he suggested, his hand roaming along her sides slowly.

"Great idea," she agreed. "But if you don't stop touching me we'll never take it to the bathroom."

"Ugh," he said, as if it would be unbearable to still his hands.

Jill leaned back and peeled his shirt up and over his head. She dipped her head down and pressed her lips to his bare chest.

"Who's stalling now?" Eddie teased her.

Jill pushed herself out of his lap and pulled her own shirt off before darting for the bathroom. Eddie followed behind, hopping on one leg as he pulled off his shoes and jeans. Jill turned on the water as Eddie wrapped his arm around her waist and drew her closer to him. He unzipped her pants and she wiggled out of the rest of her clothes. They stepped under the spray together.

"You realize we're going to have to take two showers…one for fun and one to actually get clean," Jill pointed out.

"Do I get to see you naked the whole time?" Eddie asked her. His lips were blazing a trail along her shoulder and then up her neck.

"Yes," she half said half moaned.

"Then I'm okay with that," he replied. His lips touched her earlobe and sent a shiver down her spine before he moved to kiss her lips.

Jill pressed her forehead against his and let her hands trail his back and then down to his butt. Eddie groaned when her palms squeezed. He grinded his hips against her.

"Eager, much?" she murmured.

"You have no idea…" he whispered.

"Mmm, I think I do," Jill said with a soft chuckle. She slipped one of her hands between his legs and grasped him in her palm. "Now I know for sure."

"If you keep doing that I won't last," Eddie said, practically panting.

"Then we'll just have to do it again…and again…" Jill purred, her lips brushing against his as he hardened in her hand.

Eddie swallowed, trying to get his bearings. He shifted his hand from her side and slipped a digit inside of her, eliciting a moan from deep within her chest. "I think you're pretty eager too," he teased.

"I need you, babe," she whined against his mouth.

"I kind of like you like this," Eddie murmured.

"Babe…" she squeaked softly.

After touching each other a little while longer Eddie batted her hand away, slipped his fingers out from her center, and pressed himself inside of her. Jill wrapped her arms around his neck and tucked her legs around his waist. Eddie's strong arms held her up against the wall as their hips grinded against one another, with each thrust she took him in deeper and deeper until she cried out when he let outside of her.

"I love you," Eddie whispered, nuzzling his nose against hers.

"I love you too," she murmured.

"I'm really proud of you, you know," Eddie said. They were now dried off and tucked into her bed.

"What are you talking about?" Jill asked him curiously.

"You haven't even been out of school for a year and you're already working on the biggest wedding in the Moroi world. You're so talented," he said to her. "You're just…amazing."

"Thanks," she said softly. "That means a lot to me."

"And you mean a lot to me," Eddie whispered and gently pressed his lips to hers. "You're the best thing in my life."

Jill wanted to believe him, but there was that nagging voice in the back of her head making her question everything he said.

xxx

"Our relationship is stuck," Jill said to her friend. "We're not moving forward."

"Jilly…I got Sydney to marry me,"Adrian said to her. "Sydney Sage…Alchemist girl wonder."

"But Sydney came around…Eddie's too stubborn to change his mind," she said.

"Are you trying to tell me that Sage isn't stubborn?" he asked her. "You have met her before, right?"

"Ack, you don't understand," she said with a sigh.

"Maybe you should scare him," Adrian suggested with a chuckle.

Jill raised an eyebrow. "Scare him?" she asked.

"Give him an ultimatum…we go public or it's over," Adrian reasoned.

"I thought guys didn't like being put on the spot like that," Jill said warily.

"Jailbait, if you're going to dump him anyway…not that I think you should…you have to at least try. He'll see that what he's about to lose and I bet he'll change his mind about the whole situation," Adrian replied.

"I don't know. I want him to want to do it. I don't want to force him to do it," Jill said.

Adrian rubbed his temples. "You're giving me a headache," he said.

Jill couldn't help but laugh a little. "You give me a headache 24/7," she replied.

"Hey, need I remind you I saved your life, little girl," he said with a smirk.

"God, you're going to hold that over me forever, aren't you?" she asked with a grin of her own. The clock in Adrian's living room chimed. "Crap, it's later than I thought. I have to meet Camille for the final fitting."

"Jill, I wasn't serious about the ultimatum. You better think long and hard about this," Adrian said as she got ready to walk out the door.

"Believe me…all I do is think about this," she said to him. She gave him a quick hug good bye and ran across Court to her studio.


	6. Chapter 6

Chapter Six

When Jill arrived it was only Camille standing there. "You're alone! Did I mix up the time?" Jill panted in confusion as she unlocked the door. "Your mother?" she asked, trying to catch her breath.

"It's just me. I need to talk to you about…do you need to sit down?" Camille asked.

Jill sank into a chair as soon as she walked inside. "Sorry, I was on the other side of Court," she explained.

"Let me get you something to drink," Camille said. She grabbed a bottle of water from Jill's mini fridge and handed it to her.

"Thanks," she said after she swallowed a long sip. She took a deep breath. "Okay, what's going on?" she asked.

"The wedding is off," Camille said to her.

"What?!" Jill exclaimed.

"No, not like off…off…I mean, we're still getting married," Camille clarified.

"I'm lost," Jill said to her.

"The wedding my mother planned is off, but Eric and I are still getting married. I'm going to meet him in China. We're going to elope," Camille explained.

"Oh, wow…that's…wow…" Jill stammered.

"Don't worry. You're still going to get paid," she assured her. "And I love the dress you made for me…I'm still going to wear that. I'm sorry about all the trouble. I just finally realized I needed to take control of the situation."

The two chatted a while longer and through the whole conversation Camille's words stuck in her head.

Take control of the situation.

xxx

"Whoa! Where's the fire?" Eddie asked as Jill blew into his apartment.

"We need to talk," Jill said to him.

"Do you maybe want to sit down…you're making me queasy," he commented as Jill paced back and forth.

"You love me, right?" Jill said, standing still now.

Eddie looked up to hold her gaze. "Of course I do," he replied. "Jill, are you okay?"

"I had a long talk with Camille today…Camille who canceled her whole wedding," Jill said.

Eddie's face crinkled up. "She canceled the whole wedding? Why?"

"Because she realized it wasn't what she wanted. She was just trying to make her mother happy," Jill said. "And that got me thinking about us…"

"Okay," he said slowly.

"Eddie…you need to stop worrying about what everyone else thinks," she said. She stepped closer to him. "Please, please marry me…" she asked softly.

Eddie's eyes nearly bugged completely out of his head as he held her (watery) gaze. "Did you just propose to me?" he asked.

"I know this is scary…so I'm doing the big part. I know you don't think you're good enough for me…and that you're worried about what Lissa will say, but Eddie…you make me happy. I know I make you happy. This is supposed to be about us. Why can't it just be about us?" she pleaded.

Eddie opened and closed his mouth a few times, clearly struggling to find the right words.

"It's just one little word…three little letters…" Jill whispered, her tears spilling over her cheeks.

The silence in the air was so thick you could have cut it with a knife. After an eternity (or what felt like one) he finally replied. "No," he said to her.

Jill stared at him dumbfounded and then ran out the door.

xxx

Just being at Court was making Jill itchy. She invited Sydney to join her at an art museum on the outskirts of town.

"All you said was you wanted to get away from Court for the day…you never said why," Sydney prompted her.

"Because I'm an idiot," Jill said to her with a sigh.

"Now I know that's not true," Sydney replied. She patted her arm gently.

"Oh, I beg to differ. I proposed to Eddie last night…needless to say his answer wasn't yes," Jill said.

Sydney's eyes grew wide. "You proposed?" she asked her.

"Shh, keep it down," Jill hissed. "I'm embarrassed enough already."

"I'm sorry," she whispered. She wrapped her arm around her friend's shoulders.

Jill leaned in against her. "I thought maybe if I did the scary part we could just move forward. Now I don't know what to think," she replied.

"Maybe he just needs some time to process it…" Sydney offered.

"He's known what I wanted all along…he had plenty of time to process it," Jill said. "I think it's just time to move on."

"Really?" Sydney asked. It was hard to imagine Jill without Eddie and vice versa.

"I can't wait forever…" Jill said. "I want what you and Adrian have…I want a life like that."

xxx

Jill rubbed her face as she was jolted awake from her nap. Something was going on with Sydney and Adrian. Something big.

About fifteen minutes later the phone rang. Sydney was in a panic….babbling on about Mr. Ivashkov and Adrian being jerks. Or maybe Adrian was the only one being the jerk…Syd wasn't exactly coherent at the moment. She finally pieced together that Sydney had gone to Mr. Ivashkov for some legal help involving keep the baby safe and Adrian lost it. Jill searched and found out Adrian was staying in one of the guest rooms at Court. She promised her friend she'd go check on him.

"How did you know I was here?" Adrian asked Jill after he opened the door. She gave him a 'duh' look. "Oh, right."

Jill pushed passed him and sat down on the foot of the bed. "Want to tell me what happened?" she asked him.

"She went behind my back!" Adrian pointed out.

"She was scared," Jill replied. "Haven't you ever been scared?"

"Well, yeah…but still…she knows how I feel about my father," Adrian replied.

"And you seriously asked her if she wished she had lost the baby?" Jill asked.

Adrian frowned and sat down on the bed next to her. "Okay, that was shitty on my part, but she was acting so weird about everything," he tried to explain.

"I think you're both idiots," Jill told him. "You have this great life together and you're messing it up by being stubborn and not communicating."

"I'm not stubborn…okay, I'm really stubborn," he said. "But she's worse," he added quickly.

Jill rolled her eyes. "Am I going to have to lock you two in a room together?" she asked him.

Adrian sighed and rubbed his face. "No, I'll go home," he said to her. "How upset is she?" he asked as he splayed his fingers apart and looked at her

"I'd suggest ice cream as a peace offering," Jill said with a nod.

Some people don't know how good they have it. She frowned when another text from Eddie beeped on her phone. She sighed and powered the device off.


	7. Chapter 7

Chapter Seven

"How come you haven't been returning my phone calls?" Eddie asked Jill.

She was so startled she dropped the pair of scissors she had been holding. "How did you get in here?" she demanded. She had told her guardians not to let anyone into her studio.

"I know people in high places," Eddie said to her. "You're not answering my question."

"Gee, Eddie…I can't imagine," Jill said with a roll of her eyes. She retrieved her scissors off the floor and looked up at him. "Maybe it's because I proposed to you and you said no."

"You didn't let me finish," Eddie said to her. "You just left! And put down the sharp object!"

"Maybe I was a little embarrassed…and hurt," Jill said to him. "I want to spend my entire life with you…share everything with you and you said no! What are you doing?" she asked. Eddie was pulling something about his bag. "I'm yelling at you! The least you can do is pay attention."

"Here!" he yelled back at her and shoved a little black box into her hand. "Is this what you want?"

Jill furrowed her eyebrows as she pulled the box open. Her gaze fell upon a sparkly diamond ring. She blinked a few times before she looked up at her boyfriend.

"Finally got you to stop talking, huh?" Eddie said, a nervous smile on his lips.

"I don't understand," Jill said slowly. Her hand was starting to twitch.

"I had a whole proposal planned out," Eddie said to her. "I even got Lissa's blessing. But you went and screwed it all up!"

"You told Lissa?" she asked softly.

"Yeah, I did," he said. "I was going to surprise you at dinner and then have Sydney, Adrian, your mother, and your sister there."

"You were going to propose…and you got Lissa's blessing," she said. She finally tore her eyes away from the ring and focused on him.

"But when you proposed I got flustered and…yeah, that didn't go the way I planned," Eddie said.

"YES!" Jill said quickly.

Eddie chuckled a little. "I didn't even ask," he said.

Jill quickly shoved the box back into his hand. "Ask! Ask!" she squealed.

"You're unbelievable," he said with a shake of his head. He got down on one knee and popped the box open. "Jill, I can't imagine my life without you. Will you marry me?"

"YES!" she said, with even more excitement in her squeal than before.

Eddie smiled and slipped the ring onto her finger. He stood up and wrapped his arms around her tightly. "I love you, Pocket."

"I love you too," Jill said into his neck as she held onto him.

"So what do you think…a Christmas wedding?" he offered.

Jill swallowed and looked up at him. "No, no way…that's too far away," she said.

"Fall?" he tried again.

"Today," she said firmly.

"Today?" he asked, rather puzzled.

"We can take Lissa's plane to Vegas," she said.

"Well, I mean…" Eddie trailed off. He shook his head. "You're right, no more waiting. Let's do it!"

xxx

A few hours later Eddie and Jill found themselves in a little white chapel on the Vegas strip. After they had landed they gave themselves half an hour to find something to wear and pick out rings before heading to the chapel. They agreed this ceremony would be just for them and then they'd have a big royal reception in a few months.

"Do you Jillian Mastrano Dragomir take Edward Castile to be your lawfully wedded husband?" the minister asked.

"I do," Jill said quickly.

"Do you Edward Castile take Jillian Mastrano Dragomir to be your lawfully wedded wife?" he asked Eddie.

"I do," he said without hesitation.

"By the power invested in me and the state of Nevada I pronounce you husband and wife. You may kiss the bride," the minister said.

Jill leaned up and Eddie leaned down to meet her halfway. Their kiss sealed a promise they had already made a long time ago in Palm Springs.

"So where to…buffet dinner?" Eddie asked as they walked out onto the strip.

"Mmm steak and lobster for $14," Jill said with a giggle. "Whoa…" she stammered and lost her balance.

Eddie quickly wrapped his arm around her. "What's wrong?"

"It's Adrian," she said slowly. "Oh my god…the baby is coming!" As soon as the words left her lips her phone buzzed with a text…saying just that.

"We have to get back," Eddie said quickly. "Come on, Mrs. Castile…we have a plan to catch."

xxx

"Sorry, we weren't here sooner," Jill said as she and Eddie walked into the hospital room together. "We left the second Adrian texted, but traffic was like…ahh. Oh my god…let me hold him," she said and reached with grabby hands.

"Where were you?" Sydney asked curiously as Adrian slid baby Aaron into her arms.

Jill smiled and looked over at Eddie. "Tell them," she prompted the guardian.

"We were getting married," Eddie replied, as if he was talking about something as simple as the weather.

"Wait…what?" Sydney asked in confusion. She looked at Eddie and Jill's left hands and saw matching rings.

"I had been planning a big proposal the whole time…I even got Lissa's blessing…and when Jill beat me to the punch I kind of panicked," Eddie replied.

"My bad…" Jill said sheepishly.

"Anyway we decided just to go for it…we had waited long enough," Eddie said with a smile.

Tears were slipping down Sydney's cheeks as they told the story. "Don't mind me…everything makes me cry," she said.

"We're really happy for you guys," Adrian echoed.

"Now that we got the marriage part out of the way…I want one of these," Jill said to Eddie as she held up Aaron.

"What have I gotten myself into?" Eddie groaned.

xxx

The next morning Jill woke up before Eddie did. She smiled down at his sleeping face. This was the way life was supposed to be.

"Why are you staring at me?" Eddie asked, eyes still closed.

"Because you're so gosh darn cute," Jill teased him. She pressed her lips against his cheek.

"Come here, you," Eddie said and gathered her up into his arms.

Jill smiled and snuggled up against his chest. "I like it here," she said softly.

"Good," Eddie said. "Because I'm going to keep you here forever."

Jill sighed contently and for the first time in a long time her head was quiet.


End file.
